In the 10pm Hour, ABC's "Private Practice" Beats out CBS' "CSI" by 47% in Adults 18-34, Finishing as the No. 1 Scripted Show in the Slot for its 18th Straight Original

Thursday Night (8:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC earned second place on Thursday among Total Viewers (7.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.5/8), while ranking a strong No. 1 among Adults 18-34 with a 16% advantage over second-place Fox (2.2/8 vs. 1.9/7).

Please Note: On the Thursday leading into Easter weekend and during Passover, overall Adult 18-49 TV usage levels were down a sharp -8% week to week (31.6 vs. 34.2).

"Grey's Anatomy" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

Building sharply on its lead-in (+4.7 million viewers/+150% in AD18-49), ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" won its hour by 25% over its nearest competition in Adults 18-49 (3.5/10 vs. 2.8/8 � CBS' "The Mentalist") to rank as Thursday's No. 1 TV show in the key young Adult sales demo (tie). In addition, "Grey's" beat "The Mentalist" by 100% with Adults 18-34 (3.2/11 vs. 1.6/6). CBS flip-flopped the time period for "CSI" and "The Mentalist" on the night. It was "Grey's" 17th time in 18 original broadcasts this season to qualify as Thursday's No. 1 scripted series with young adults.

"Private Practice" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Private Practice" ranked a strong second to CBS' "CSI" in the 10 o'clock hour among Total Viewers (7.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8), beating out NBC's "Marriage Ref" (5.3 million and 2.2/7) by a best-ever 2.5 million viewers and by 23% with young adults. The ABC sophomore series dominated the hour over its drama competition in Adults 18-34, beating "CSI" by 47% (2.2/8 vs. 1.5/8). In fact it was the 18th consecutive original telecast this season for "Private Practice" to register as the No. 1 scripted show in its slot in Adults 18-34, as well as key Women (W18-34/W18-49).

A note about increasing DVR penetration and year-to-year rating comparisons: Year-to-year rating comparisons based on the Live + Same Day data stream are distorted by the level of DVR penetration in the Nielsen sample, which has jumped up to 36% currently, from 30% at the same point in 2009. More viewers are watching shows on their own timetables, which may not be reflected in the overnight next day numbers. The only truly valid year-to-year comparison would be one based on the Live + 7 Day metric, once those stats are released by Nielsen.

Source: The Nielsen Company (Fast Affiliate, Live + Same Day Ratings), 4/1/10.